The Cue-Availability Paradigm: The Effects of Cigarette Availability on Cue Reactivity in Smokers

Researchers have hypothesized that drug availability should influence addicts' reactions to drug-related stimuli, but manipulations of the extent to which drug users have access to their drugs following a session of exposure to drug cues have not produced strong availability effects. This study used within-session manipulations of drug availability to examine cigarette smokers' reactions to smoking cues. Smokers ( N = 60) were exposed to 48 trials of either a lit cigarette or a glass of water while they were informed of the probability (0%, 50%, or 100%) that they would be able to consume the cue on each trial. Results from measures of craving, mood, skin conductance, and latency to access the cues indicated that the trial-by-trial manipulation of drug availability had a pronounced impact on reactivity to cigarette cues.